MEMBER NEWS, by Rick Ryder SER/SAC - Our friend and colleague George H. Friedman died on November 22, after an 18 year battle with Multiple Sclerosis. SER Members may remember George, both as the author of the arbitration column in the Roundtable’s The Expert Examiner and as a speaker, alongside FINRA Dispute Resolution’s (FINRA-DR) Rick Berry, at the group’s annual conferences. George was amply equipped for both roles, as well as his expert pursuits, following upon a career-long dedication to the practice and improvement of the dispute resolution process. George came to us from outside the securities business, after serving in numerous roles at the New York headquarters of the American Arbitration Association, when recruited by NASD Regulation for the EVP position of Arbitration Director. He consulted me then, as a former Director, and later told me that, on his train ride to Washington to interview — before being offered or having accepted the position — he "blue-penciled" the existing Code of Arbitration to be more reader-friendly and chronologically structured.
I shall remember George fondly as a great story-teller with a persuasive, confident air and a quick wit. He was also, to me, a supportive partner in editing and producing the various publications of the Securities Arbitration Commentator, Inc (“SAC”) from 2013 through 2019. From 2019 until 2024, after which his illness became too grave, he became Editor-in-Chief and publisher of the weekly email, Securities Arbitration Alert. He departed FINRA-DR, after a remarkable 16-year stint, during which NASD became FINRA, the Arbitration Code was transformed into three separate Codes and the text re-organized, (as George had envisaged), and claim volume for customers soared on losses stemming from the "Schlock House” frauds (think Leonardo DiCaprio), the Tech Crash, and the Financial Collapse. He was a towering figure in arbitration, a student of the practice, a visionary of online DR, an advocate for fairness, and, in a long-standing role as a Fordham Law Professor, a teacher and scholar on the subject. He was tireless, enjoyable, faithful, intellectual, funny and creative. He loved this organization and recognized, both when he was Director and beyond, its special character as a neutral, yet positive force.
In recent days, while George was in hospice, many friends and colleagues submitted tributes and goodbyes. Read to him by his wife, Ellen, these messages brought joy to George; they also comforted and enlightened his family, friends and community to his influence in the DR field and the high regard in which he was held. His family sends thanks to those SER Members who sent such messages for their thoughfulness.
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